Expectations
by AliasCWN
Summary: Dietrich contemplates a victory over the Rat Patrol


**Expectations**

By: AliasCWN

Dietrich held his field glasses to his eyes and waited patiently. Long experience had taught him that springing his trap too soon could not only lead to failure, but quite possibly, to complete disaster. He had confidence in his men but he was all too aware of the difficulty of actually hitting their fast moving targets. Holding his eagerness in check, he waited for the nimble little jeeps to draw closer.

A quick glance to either side revealed his column lined up behind the crest of the dune, ready to charge out and surprise the enemy patrol. The relaxed posture of the two American drivers convinced him that the enemy had no idea that they were being watched.

Turning his attention to the other two men in the jeeps, he briefly wondered what they were thinking as they rode along. Were they even now trying to come up with new ways to make his life miserable? Did they know his column was out here? Were they even now searching for it so that they could execute one of their famous 'hit and run' attacks that had proven to be so devastating? Were they planning another attack that would leave even more of his men dead or dying? Perhaps they were on a mission to find out what he and his fellow German officers were planning. They had the most irritating knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time; at least as far as he was concerned. So many of his plans had been thwarted or discovered by this very group of Allied soldiers. They had more than once managed to sneak right into his base and invade his very office. Time and time again they had photographed maps and plans for his offensives. Once they had even recorded his entire briefing for his officers on the eve of a big offensive, right under the nose of his security staff! They were insufferable! He could feel his anger rising just thinking about all the men that he had lost, all the damage they had done, all the plans they had foiled. They were a sharp thorn in his side.

This time would be different. This time he would wait until they were so close there was no way his gunners could miss! He would wait until he could see the expressions on their faces as they fell with German bullets tearing into their bodies. They would know that they had been beaten by Germany's best, the Afrika Korps.

The very thought brought a smile to his lips. Perhaps they could just disable the jeeps, destroying the motors. Without their transportation, his men could run them down and capture each and every one of them.

The Captain allowed himself to imagine basking in the glory that such a feat would bring. To capture the entire Rat Patrol and end their reign of destruction forever, it would be a dream come true. To make up for all the wrong that they had inflicted; he could write to all the families of the men who had died by their hand. He could say that they had been avenged. It wouldn't bring them back, but it might bring their loved ones some measure of peace.

His superiors would no longer be able to deny him his due. He would make major as he should have done long ago. Even in this, the Rat Patrol had influenced his life. His career seemed to be on hold due to their constant interference in his plans. Their success registered more with his superiors than all his hard work. Once they were gone, he had no doubt that his career would soon be back on track.

He could promote his aide to captain. The man was a good soldier who learned from his mistakes. Their styles were similar so he could rest assured that all the improvements he had made on his base would not be undone. The lieutenant would take over the daily running of the base and that would allow him more time to concentrate on the big picture. He knew that the German forces were struggling to hold on to North Africa. Perhaps once he made major he could do something about that problem. After all, Field Marshal Rommel considered him to be a rising star. The Field Marshal was seldom wrong in such things.

Even now he had a fellow officer among his men. The Field Marshal had sent the man to him to be trained in desert warfare. The officers from Europe and the coast didn't understand the unique problems that the desert could present. They failed to appreciate the complexities of desert battles. Many failed to grasp the concept of the heat rising off the hot sand distorting images and confusing even experienced desert troops. It could affect the aim of even the best soldier. The other officer, also a captain, was of the belief that his combat experience in Europe was sufficient for any type of warfare. Dietrich sighed as he recalled all the officers who had come to him with the same attitude. Some of the officers had died for their mistakes, some at the hands of the very men in those two jeeps. His superiors had not been pleased about their loss. Dietrich was convinced that they blamed him. He had tried to impress upon each and every one of them the dangers of underestimating the enemy, especially this particular enemy. Only time would tell if this new captain would survive to learn his lesson.

Dietrich used his glasses to locate the captain among his men. The man stood transfixed by the scene playing out before him. His entire focus was on the approaching jeeps. Dietrich thought he looked ready to take on the legend that was the enemy patrol. At least the new captain did not appear to be intimidated by the stories he had almost certainly heard about their targets and their well-documented exploits.

Dietrich turned back to watch as the two American jeeps continued to draw closer. The drivers still appeared relaxed. At this distance he could see one of the drivers smile as the other one called to him from the other jeep. Driving side by side, they were presenting a tempting target for his gunners. Dietrich was thankful once again that he had taken the time to impress on his men the need to wait for orders to fire. One over-zealous gunner, firing to soon, could ruin everything.

Sergeant Troy flashed a smile at his driver as the young man turned to say something to him.

Sergeant Moffitt and his driver seemed to be carrying on a conversation too. Dietrich watched as Pfc. Pettigrew glanced at the sergeant with a grin.

'They won't be smiling soon.' The Captain thought with satisfaction. Almost there. 'They are almost close enough that the gunners won't be able to miss.'

The first shell landed to the side of Troy's jeep. The second one was short of both targets. As Dietrich screamed in frustration, the rest of his halftracks opened fire on the Americans.

Dietrich screamed in rage. He would have the head of the soldier who had fired without authorization! As the dust cleared he could make out the fast moving shapes of the two jeeps disappearing over a distant dune. His halftracks would never be able to run them down now unless they had somehow managed to damage one of them enough to cripple it. They were gone! He had no doubt he would see them again, but this opportunity had been lost!

Furious, the Captain stomped toward the line of halftracks, seeking the soldier whose impatience had ruined his ambush. His men hung their heads as he passed, aware that they had failed him once again. Too angry to think straight, he lashed out at them at random. His men took the berating silently, none daring to contradict their distraught captain.

"Who was it? Who fired without orders?" Dietrich ran his eyes up and down the line, looking for anyone who looked guilty.

"Captain Dietrich."

Dietrich paused to catch his breath before continuing to chastise his men. "What?" Spinning, he faced the other captain.

"I gave the order to fire." The visiting captain admitted sheepishly. "I felt that they were close enough and I didn't want them to slip away in the foothills."

"And just what gave you the idea that they would get away into the foothills?" Dietrich asked coldly.

"You did Captain." The second officer explained. "You told me that they always manage to find a way to escape despite overwhelming odds. The only avenue of escape that I could see was the foothills." The young officer hung his head. "I thought that I was making the right call Captain. My apologies."

Dietrich took a deep breath and tried to relax his tensed muscles.

"It's all right Captain. Perhaps you were right. Perhaps I allowed my own eagerness to capture them to blind me to that possibility." Dietrich looked at the foothills in question and tried to picture the two jeeps disappearing among the gentle slopes. Now that he looked at them in that light, he could admit the potential for escape. "We will get another chance Captain, they won't go away. Sooner or later they will be back." Dragging in a deep breath of disappointment, he ordered his unit to prepare to return to base. Glancing around uneasily, he hoped that they wouldn't reappear until he had had time to prepare. The new officer showed promise. It would be a shame if he were to be killed before he had had a chance to develop that potential. Chasing the Rat Patrol now would be a mistake that they could not afford to make. Telling his men to stay alert, he ordered them to move out. As he watched the desert roll past his halftrack, he allowed his disappointment to melt away. Tomorrow was another day. Maybe tomorrow would bring another chance to realize his ambitions. One could hope.


End file.
